Trusting Iwa
by BarefootMe
Summary: When you are sent to a place that killed the nin from your village, trusting them can be the hardest thing.
1. Assigned

"Tsunade, why me?" I asked "Why not Shino, or Naruto or someone else?"

"Kiba, I picked you because I thought you would get along with the person you will be working with. Also with the Chunin Exams coming up, this is important. We are trying to build Iwa's trust.I also need to know how many teams will be entering, that is if the Tsuchikage is even interested. Now you will leave tomorrow morning. Is that understood?"

I thought for a moment and replied with a mumbled "Yes, ma'am."

As I stood before the gates, about to leave, Naruto appeared behind me.

"Hey Kiba!" The hyper blonde said

"What Naruto?" I wanted to leave soon considering it was a long way to Iwa.

"I have a favor to ask."

"Which would be…?"

"When you get to the Hidden Stone, can you try the ramen? I really want to know if it is better than Ichiraku's."

"If I remember, I guess so." With that I left.

I had been running for hours, when I finally decided to stop for the night. I was somewhere near Kusagakure which would explain the grass that grew rapidly everywhere. I wondered who I was supposed to work with and what I would have to do. With the Chunin Exams coming soon, I suppose Tsunade would use me as a source of information on how many teams would be entering. I kept pondering this subject until I finally fell asleep.


	2. Meeting

That morning I awoke to Akamaru barking and standing in a defense position. I quickly jumped up and looked around me. I could not see them, but I could smell them. I grabbed a kunai and held it in a ready position.

Almost immediately, a enemy nin jumped in front of me. Great just what I need. I jumped at him attempting to plunge the kunai into his hear and end this quickly.

He dodged my attack and threw me into a tree. Akamaru bit his shirt and threw him to the ground and he landed with a very loud thud.

When I got up I ran to the nin's side and plunged the kunai into his chest and left it there. The faster I can get to Iwa, the better.

* * *

"So who is this guy again? I was not paying attention." I asked my grandfather Onoki.

"I really wish you would pay more attention and be more responsible, Okami. His name is Kiba Inuzuka from Konoha. The Hokage insists on sending one of their nin here to see how many teams we will be entering the exams. You are to be his escort. Also we are trying to build the trust between people of Konoha and ours. So stay with him while he is here. It will give the people the idea that you trust him and will hopefully change their minds about the people of Konoha. Understood?"

"I understand gramps. How long will he be here?"

"He will be here for about a month. Then we will be sending you back with him. You will stay in Konoha for a month also. And after that the exams will start so you will just stay there and we will send teams there with their senseis. After the exams, you will come back here."

"Sounds like a plan."

Nami then started barking.

"What is it Nami?" I asked

She pointed her head towards the entrance of the village. She smelt another dog.

"I take it he is a dog user?"

"Yes he is, one of the reasons I put him with you."

I walked to the window and looked out upon the village. I could see the bustling streets and smell the food being made. I looked towards the gates and saw that Kiba was coming this way. Joy. Gramps could probably hear me grumbling.

"Remember be nice."

"Whatever. I will be back." I walked out the door with Nami trailing beside me. I walked out to the back balcony and looked at the rock structures. I remember climbing those when I was younger. How I almost fell and my brother caught me, taking his own life saving me. I still never forgave myself.

* * *

I walked into the Tsuchikage's office. I saw him look up then stand.

"Hello, you must be Kiba. My name is Onoki."

"Hello. It is nice to meet you." I was trying to sound as friendly as I could.

"I do suppose you know your mission while you are here?"

"Yes, I do. Tsunade said I would have an escort as well."

"Yes, she is around here somewhere. I hope you do not mind, but she should be here soon."

As soon as he finished that sentence, she walked in. I could tell she was a dog user. She had long, brown, messy hair and wore a grey zip up jacket with a hood and had white pants that went down to her ankles. I also noticed she was barefoot.

"Okami this is Kiba. Kiba, Okami." Okami turned towards me.

"Hey. I am Okami and this is my dog Nami. We can go now if you would like."

"Uh…sure." I said and followed her out.

* * *

I laughed to myself. They reminded me of Okami's parents when they first met. I could tell this was going to get interesting. Okami appeared in my office again.

"Do not think that I cannot hear you gramps."

**Yes! Second chapter in one day! This is my first fanfiction. I hope you like it! Constructive criticism welcomed!**

_Olivier_


	3. Authors Note: Disclaimer

Author's Note: Darn…I forgot to do a disclaimer on the first two chapters…well here it is.

I never have and most likely will never own Naruto or its characters. If I did I would probably be much richer and have more money than I do now. All rights go to their rightful owners.

Now that I have that done, I can continue and hopefully remember to put disclaimers somewhere in the chapter. Thanks for reading!


	4. Kage's Words

**Disclaimer: do not own Naruto…wish I did.**

We had finished our ramen, and were on our way back to gramps' office.

"_What could he possibly want?" _I wondered.

"Are you ready to go?" I questioned Kiba, who just gave a me a grunt_. "Alright then…" _Hopping off my chair, and shouting a good bye to Joji, I started walking back to gramps office. Trust me, I was overjoyed. I turned to Kiba.

"Well, I guess I could show you some things on the way back, if you want me to." Another grunt.

"That is the hospital over there." Okami said pointing to a white building, "Then next to that is the tea shop…Oh! Over there is where you can buy pet food, unless you would rather make it yourself…and that over there is the book store. Got it?" I nodded. How could she act so nice, when I know on the inside she was just waiting to kill me?

* * *

We passed a couple more buildings before arriving upon the Tsuchikage's office. Okami lead me through the hallways and then knocked on the door. Onoki answered it.

"Please do come in." he walked back behind his desk. "Okami, do you mind letting Kiba and I talk alone for a little?" I saw no motion from her to protest, just a questioning look.

"Whatever, gramps." She said flatly and turned to leave with Nami trailing behind her. I watched her leave the room and turned back to Onoki.

"You may sit if you want."

"I prefer to stand." He was silent for a moment.

"You are probably wondering why I asked you to come here. I wanted to talk to you about your mission. I have yet to know how many teams are entering the exams, so no questions about that. Also your mission is to get the people to trust you, correct?" I nodded, "Right. So how can they do that if you cannot even trust Okami yourself?" he stopped for a moment, waiting for me to respond.

"I don't know. I'm having a hard time trusting her and I have no idea why…"

"Listen, Okami has a big heart. It's just hard to get into. Over the next month, I want you to at least act like you trust her, even if it's not there in reality. Get what I'm saying?"

"Yes sir." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"What is your dog's name?"

"Akamaru…This is kinda off topic but, Okami said her parents were killed by Konoha nin." I noticed Onoki put his head down.

"Yes, they were. She really does miss them. Just do not bring it up unless she does first or you might end up going back to Konoha missing a limb." He laughed a little saying this, "You should probably go find her. She is most likely on top of those rock formations out back. Be careful, we have lost a few from falling of those things."

"Thank you." I left the room with Akamaru at my heels. I left the office looking for Okami on the rocks.

* * *

When I looked down, I saw Kiba and Akamaru standing next to gramps office. They must be done talking, took them long enough.

I started down the rocks with name behind me. I was always careful here, since this is where I fell last time. Putting one foot carefully in front of the other, one thing came to mind, if I fall, can I trust him enough to catch me? One part of me said "Yes, of course." And the other the complete opposite. As my mind battled with itself, it happened.

She fell.

**Finally! I finished this chapter! Sorry it took so long…ugh. School starts soon, so updates might not be so often. The last sentence I am not sure if the point of view changed to Kiba or just some sort of narrator. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!**

_Olivier_


	5. Catching and Waiting

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto.**

"This is it." I thought. There was no way I was going to make this fall. I highly doubted that Kiba would do anything about it. He was probably waiting for me to fall on the ground and break my head open and bleed to death. Because of an old deal I made with her, Nami still stood on the ledge, knowing that she would have the same fate if she tried to rescue me herself. As the ground came closer, I waited to hit the surface, it never came. Instead everything went black.

* * *

I caught her. Then, she passed out. I was not sure why. My mind was racing. Where was the hospital again? Next to the bookstore? No. Tea shop! That's where it is at. I quick jumped to the roof of some building, and ran with her in my arms and Akamaru behind me and Nami in front. Occasionally, she would stop to make sure I was still following her. At least she knew where she was going.

Nami jumped down from the building she was on. I followed with Akamaru behind me. She then ran to a certain door, and sat down.

"Stay here Akamaru." I quickly said then ran through the doors.

Almost as soon as I came through the doors, three medics came with a stretcher. Two of them put Okami on the stretcher and the other stayed. The two medics dressed in white, already had her down the hall and then turned. The one medic asked me some questions.

"What happened?"

"Um…she was on the rock structures behind the Tsuchikage's tower and started climbing down and slipped."

"Did she hit the ground?"

"No. I caught her. But she passed out anyway."

"Any cuts or scrapes?"

"A couple that I saw on her face and hands, other than that, not that I know of."

"Thanks. If you want to wait here, I will be able to tell you what room she is in, in a while."

"Okay. And are dogs allowed in this part of the building?"

"For dog users, yes otherwise just pets are not allowed in this part of the building."

"Thanks." I walked back out the door to find Akamaru and Nami sniffing each other. Nami gave him this look and then attempted to bite his head. Both then started barking, I couldn't help laughing.

"Alright, stop it you two." Akamaru stopped but Nami gave me a look that said _"I will cooperate since Okami isn't here." _

"C'mon." I muttered and turned around with the two behind me. Back in the waiting area, I sat down with my hands by my mouth. I was debating whether or not to go and tell Onoki. He would probably find out sometime, or maybe it would be better to not have him know at all. Or did things like this happen to her all the time? I decided to just let it go.

I sat down for a while and just when I was about to fall asleep from boredom, the same medic came and got me.

"Would you like to see your girlfriend now?" he asked. Red came over my face.

"S-she isn't my girlfriend…and yes, I would." The medic looked a little shocked.

"Oh, well, follow me." I followed the medic through the winding halls, until we came to a hallway which we turned down and then into the room.

Okami was on the bed sleeping-or unconscious. I was not sure which.

"She is still unconscious. She probably won't wake up for a couple more hours or until tomorrow."

I could _not_ wait that long.

"Alright." Was all I could manage. The medic took this as his cue to leave.

I sat in a chair next to her bed. Akamaru sat beside me on the floor and Nami took the liberty of the free chair at the other edge of the bed. Facing Okami, she did not take her eyes off of her, only to look at the door a couple of times.

As I sat here, I realized how attractive I actually found her. Like Nami, I didn't take my eyes off her. Once I met Nami's eyes and they said "Do something." What, I didn't know. Eventually, something came over me.

I kissed her forehead.

Why, not sure. But Nami gave me a satisfying look and nodded her head, saying she understood. At this point, I grabbed her hand and held it tight in mine.

"Kiba?" I snapped my head around to find Onoki standing at the door. Nami barked viscously. I couldn't help but to go a little red.

"I-"Onoki put his hand up.

"I just came to check on my grand-daughter. That is all. Did the medic give you any information?"

"He said that she probably won't wake up for a couple hours or until tomorrow." I recited.

"That's fine." He walked to the bed in attempt to touch her head, then which Nami refused to let him touch her by biting his hand hard and breaking the skin.

Onoki gave her a puzzling look. She barked loudly.

"Does she always do this to you?" I questioned.

"No, but she is very protective of Okami. Maybe Okami will tell you about it when she wakes up. I'll be leaving now." He vanished in a puff of smoke. I stroked Akamaru's head.

Wake up. Soon.

**Chapter Five! Woot! Anyway sorry it took awhile…I was gone all weekend so…yeah.**

_Olivier_


	6. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: Naruto goes to its rightful owners.**

To be honest, sitting here for hours on end was getting boring. And if I did leave the room, I would have no idea what to do, other than to come back here. Hell, I did not even know where I was staying. I guess Okami was supposed to tell me, but obviously that was not going to happen any time soon.

All I could do was sit here and wait.

* * *

My hearing came back to me first. I heard breathing. Two dogs and human. Kiba must be here…otherwise why would there be two dogs? I had no desire to open my eyes to see. Something was gripping my hand. Tightly, I might add. I assumed it would be one of the nurses. I mean, why would Kiba be holding _my_ hand? But, I felt no other presence in the room. So, it would have to be his.

Finally I decided to open my eyes a little.

* * *

I heard Okami's breath steady and could feel her squeeze my hand back. I felt reassured, knowing that she was awake. Why? No clue.

"Okami?" I breathed.

"What?" she said flatly. She sat up. Looking at me, she asked "What happened?"

"Well, you were on the rocks behind the Tsuchikage's tower and fell off."

"I realize that much, I mean, after that."

"Well, I took you here." Just then, a nurse walked in.

"I am here to examine your scrapes." Was all she said.

"Now?" Okami asked.

"Yes, now. Considering he wouldn't let us until he knew you were alright. " Okami looked from me to the nurse.

"Could you give us a minute?" She said, turning a little red.

"Um, sure." The nurse left the room. Okami turned to me.

"Is that true?"

"Is what true?" I wasn't listening.

"That you did not let them examine me until you knew that I was alright?" I could feel my face go red.

"Uh…I-well…yeah." She was staring at me.

"And you were the one holding my hand when I woke up?"

"Yes."

"One last question."

"Shoot."

"Did I ever hit the ground?" I was silent for a moment.

"You mean when you fell?" I asked dumbly.

"No. When I was growing potatoes. Yes when I fell!" She said sarcastically.

"I caught you, so no; you never did hit the ground." Next thing I knew, her arms were around me in an embrace. I felt my face go even redder.

"Thank you. Very much." She whispered into my shoulder. Even though I wanted to, I couldn't get myself to return the hug. After a moment, I felt my shoulder get slightly wet.

She stayed there for awhile, non-moving, when she said,

"Did gramps tell you how my brother died?"

"No."

"He fell. Trying to catch me from falling of those rocks. He got cut and scraped and he lost so much blood, they were not able to save him." She was sobbing now. "I-if I would not have brought him up there…th-then he would not have…" I could tell how hard it was for her to relive that event. I wrapped my arms around her. I could not think of what to say other than,

"How long ago was that?" This was probably a bad idea. She sniffed a couple times before she removed her arms from around me and said

"I-it was three years ago. Right after I became a chunin. The day after actually." She was silent for a while.

"I'm sorry." I said

"Do not be. It was not your fault. It was mine." I could see tears run down her face. She turned to Nami.

"I suppose that she did not try to save me?"

"No she didn't. Onoki said you might tell me why." She was silent. Minutes passed until she finally said,

"This is going to sound selfish. And if you ever tell anybody about this, it _will _be your head. Understood?" I nodded.

"When I first got Nami, I made a deal with her that if I was ever in danger, to the point where she would have to give her life to save mine, she would do nothing. If I were to die, she would do what she would want to do, but continue living."

"That's…"

"I think it is selfish. But I do not want to be the cause of anyone's death…again."

There was a long awkward silence between us. When the nurse walked in.

"Can we examine you now?" she asked.

"No." Okami said.

"But-"

"I do not care. I will be leaving now." With that she stood up and left the room with Nami next to her. The nurse looked to me.

"Just…let her go." I stood up and left.

**There you go. I probably will not update for awhile since my laptop is going to be looked at and the PC is dead. And I will be laptopless for a little over a week. Then, how ever long it takes me to write the next chapter…maybe by the end of the month or into October. But defiantly by Halloween. So look for it! **

_Olivier_


	7. On the Roof and Into the Past

Disclaimer: Over the period of time since the last chapter, I have not been given the pleasure of owning Naruto. All rights go to their rightful owners.

"So do you normally walk out of places like that?" Kiba asked me.

"Depends on the place." I mumbled. Walking down the road, I stopped in front of my old house. I have not gone in there since my brother died that day. I just left everything there. While I stood there battling against my mind if I should go in there, Kiba began to speak.

"So…why are we standing in front of someone's house?"

"It is my house…"

"I thought you lived with your grandpa."

"I do. I have not been in there since my brother died." Kiba did not say anything.

"Do you want to go inside with me?" I asked.

"Sure." I continued to walk around the building, then walked up the wall and onto the roof.

"The roof?" Kiba asked.

"Always came through the skylight. Lost the key years ago." I opened the skylight window as I spoke. It was a little hard to get off, but I got it. I looked down. So far, it looked like it did three years ago.

Hoping for the best, I jumped through the skylight just like I used to with Nami doing the same. Kiba and Akamaru jumped in after.

When I looked around, I started laughing. The ramen cups my brother left were still there, the TV still standing, and all the doors leading to different rooms, were missing. It was almost exactly the same as it was three years ago. Nami walked to the counter and started sniffing her food bowl.

I myself started walking around. I walked to what used to be my room and laughed some more. My bed was still in place, my wide aray of mangas still lay on the floor. I began to wonder around my room picking up the manga that lay on the floor and gently tossing them to the other side of the room.

Walking out of the room, I wondered aimlessly around the house until I came to my brothers room. I stopped at the doorway, finally deciding to go in there for the first time in three years.

Everything was neat and organized, just how he liked it. Bead was made, scrolls and weapons stored neatly and his video games were in order. I sat on his bed wondering what to do. This mission that gramps gave me was possible, but it is not the easiest thing when you barely trust the guy himself. I looked around my brothers room and my eyes fell on the photo he had on his bedside table.

It was a picture from the day I was promoted to a chunin. I picked up the photo and examined it. I tried not to cry, but could not help myself. Tears came down my face silently, as I held the photo.

"Okami?" I had forgot that Kiba was even here.

"What?"

"Nothing. I was just looking for you…" my shoulders were trembling. Which he must have seen. "You okay?"

"…I-I am fine. Perfectly fine." I lied

"Liar. What's wrong?" Nami came up on the bed next to me.

"Is that your brother?" he asked. I then mumbled a very audible

"Yes."

**Finally! Sorry it took so long. Just got caught up in schoolwork and such. Next chapter will not be up soon either, my goal is to get it up by the end of November. Do not know how long this story will be. Or if I am going to include the whole story (when they go back to Konoha, Chunin Exams, etc). 'til the next chapter! **

_Olivier_


	8. AN: Sorry

So sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I am working on the next chapter, and blah blah blah, excuses, excuses…anyway. Next chapter will be up right after the new year, if not before…stupid school projects that I have to do…

_Olivier_


	9. Thoughts

**Me no own.**

It's not very fun to see your granddad unconscious on a stretcher being taken rather rushed to the hospital.

Honestly, it scared the shit out of me. So I didn't get along with that old fence sitter all the time, still he is really all I have other than Nami.

_What about Kiba? _Are you kidding me? I just met this dude, how the hell is he important to me?

_He saved you. You should be grateful. Besides, it's obvious that you're important to him. _

I guess you have a point there. Why am I standing here? I should be going to the hospital right now. But, I can't. My legs won't move. It's like I'm paralyzed. I blink. There's a hand in front of my face.

"Okami? You there?" Someone says.

"Right, let's go." I say snapping out of my trance. Quickly, I turn around and make a dash towards the hospital.

Going to the hospital, I barely notice anything. Not the people, smells, sounds, nothing. For awhile, I forget that Kiba is right next to me. The only thing I do hear are my own thoughts. _Is he okay? I'll have to eat after this. Who's that next to me? Oh just Kiba. How much longer? If he dies, I'm screwed. He better not, I won't let him. Not now anyway. Why are we stopping? What's grabbing my hand? What's that noise? Kiba's grabbing my hand. Is he talking? Why is he pulling me? What's that? Why is he shoutin-_

**MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! Anyway, sorry it took so long to update and that's all I have time to write now. 'Til next time!**

_Olivier_


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